How to encourage bristlenose plecos to breed?

[CozyCat]

Hi!

I LOVE plecos, I think they are the coolest looking fish and I really want a massive 6ft tank full of them. But space is limited, so I have a pair of bristlenose plecos, Pip and Penny. Pip has a spectacular full head of bristles and Penny as a few stubby ones around the rim of her head, but she's much wider than Pip so definitely female.

They're such amazing fish, so I'm trying my hand at breeding them. They have never been bred before since I got them when they were younger and watched them mature into adults (they'll always be my babies). I got them from my LFS, where I get all my fish from, so I trust their fish farm/ breeders/ sources/ wherever they get their fish from.

They have been living in the same tank together since May 2022. They used to fight over the cave, so in June I added more caves at opposite ends of the tank. Since then, I haven't seen them fighting, but they will occasionally chase the other out of their territory. I make sure to drop an algae wafer at both ends of the tank so they both get opportunity to eat. I usually drop half a wafer in the center of the tank for the guppies, they LOVE algae wafers

The tank is packed with live plants and testing shows no ammonia or nitrites, and less than 5ppm nitrates. So, I usually do about a 50% water change and squeeze/rinse the filter sponges every two weeks. They do get a bit friendly after water changes, and as I write this post Penny has just gone into Pip's cave This will happen a few times but I never see any eggs or babies... Either they eat them all, Penny doesn't release any eggs, or Pip needs a lesson in courting

They are both healthy fish, so I am not sure why there's no eggs or babies yet. Any suggestions??
Sorry for the long post
Thanks!

 

[Alice B]

put in a cave. Be sure water changes are kept up. Leave cave alone. they will handle the rest. feed adequately. Mine breed on Ginger Tropical Flake. What is your pH?

 

[Crispii]

Do a 50-75 percent water change, top it with water that is a few degrees cooler than your current temperature, and slowly increase the temperature. Also, feed the plecos with a variety of diet, including protein foods such as bloodworms or brine shrimp.

 

[CozyCat]

put in a cave. Be sure water changes are kept up. Leave cave alone. they will handle the rest. feed adequately. Mine breed on Ginger Tropical Flake. What is your pH?

They have two caves, pH around 7.6, I feed API algae wafers and tropical bug bites for the guppies.

 

[CozyCat]

Do a 50-75 percent water change, top it with water that is a few degrees cooler than your current temperature, and slowly increase the temperature. Also, feed the plecos with a variety of diet, including protein foods such as bloodworms or brine shrimp

Hey Crispii!

I have frozen bloodworms, how often should they be fed them?

 

[Crispii]

Hey Crispii!

I have frozen bloodworms, how often should they be fed them?

Probably once or twice a week. It's not good to feed them too much or too often as they're predominantly a herbivorous fish. The occasional bloodworms or brine shrimp is fine.

 

[DoubleDutch]

BN's hardly have to get encouraged to breed. If they're ready they are ready .

 

[DoubleDutch]

BTW : Arrange that you can get rid of the fry!

 

[AmyKieran]

When doing water changes, let your filter output splash on the surface of the water for a while, then fill up the tank with colder water than normal. This process tricks the fish into thinking the season has changed and it was raining

 

[DoubleDutch]

BTW : Arrange that you can get rid of the fry!

Serious. When they'll start breeding you'll have loads of fry. It isn't a bad idea to ask the LFS of they'll take them.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I never invited or gave my BN's permission to breed.

They just did it. Many, many, many times.

Handed off at least 50 babies plus the original adults to a semi local LFS who came to catch them and take them away.

My substrate is still writhing with BN juveniles now.

Just as with my Cories.....I need fish contraception urgently.

 

[CozyCat]

Serious. When they'll start breeding you'll have loads of fry. It isn't a bad idea to ask the LFS of they'll take them.

I have asked my LFS if they take fry and they said yes, they quite often take fry from customers. They take all my excess plants when my tanks get too over grown, then I get a discount on stuff
There's a couple other LFS in my town I can ask, and I could offer them to people in local fish clubs/groups too.

 

[CozyCat]

I never invited or gave my BN's permission to breed.

They just did it. Many, many, many times.

Handed off at least 50 babies plus the original adults to a semi local LFS who came to catch them and take them away.

My substrate is still writhing with BN juveniles now.

Just as with my Cories.....I need fish contraception urgently.

My cories have bred a a few times. I'd have a batch of about 20 to 30 fry, they would get to around a week old and then suddenly die off. Out of the four batches I've had, only 4 babies have made it to a month old

 

[Benji k]

Yeah I have

Hi!

I LOVE plecos, I think they are the coolest looking fish and I really want a massive 6ft tank full of them. But space is limited, so I have a pair of bristlenose plecos, Pip and Penny. Pip has a spectacular full head of bristles and Penny as a few stubby ones around the rim of her head, but she's much wider than Pip so definitely female.

They're such amazing fish, so I'm trying my hand at breeding them. They have never been bred before since I got them when they were younger and watched them mature into adults (they'll always be my babies). I got them from my LFS, where I get all my fish from, so I trust their fish farm/ breeders/ sources/ wherever they get their fish from.

They have been living in the same tank together since May 2022. They used to fight over the cave, so in June I added more caves at opposite ends of the tank. Since then, I haven't seen them fighting, but they will occasionally chase the other out of their territory. I make sure to drop an algae wafer at both ends of the tank so they both get opportunity to eat. I usually drop half a wafer in the center of the tank for the guppies, they LOVE algae wafers

The tank is packed with live plants and testing shows no ammonia or nitrites, and less than 5ppm nitrates. So, I usually do about a 50% water change and squeeze/rinse the filter sponges every two weeks. They do get a bit friendly after water changes, and as I write this post Penny has just gone into Pip's cave This will happen a few times but I never see any eggs or babies... Either they eat them all, Penny doesn't release any eggs, or Pip needs a lesson in courting

They are both healthy fish, so I am not sure why there's no eggs or babies yet. Any suggestions??
Sorry for the long post
Thanks!

the exact same problem I have caves in ther male and femal and not breeding it’s strange because I’ve heard people say how easy they are to breed and mine just aren’t breeding.

 

[nik_n]

Hey I just commented about this on another about this on another thread. I'm posting it here as I feel is more relevant to the category:
Breeding bristlenose plecos is not that difficult. The most important thing is that your fish are of breeding age, usually about a year old, and can be immediately sexed. The male will then claim a cave and try to entice the female to breed and eventually trap the female in the cave where she will lay the eggs, which the male will then fertilise. Afterwards, the male will chase the female away, and proceed to take care of the eggs until they hatch, and even a bit after. The male will sit in the cave and fan the eggs non stop. If the male is young, it may take him a couple of times before he is successful.

In terms of conditioning you want to feed a mixed diet consisting of algae wafers, green beans, zucchini and blood worms. These fish are primarily nocturnal, so feed right before the lights go off. Make sure that the food reaches to bottom otherwise the bristelnose won't be able to feed on it.

These fish breed during the rainy season in the Amazon, from where they originate. In home aquariums they can breed year round, every 4-6 weeks and are easily triggered by a 50% cool water change.

If you intend to breed for profit, I suggest pulling the fry out of the cave once they hatch and setting up a grow up tank for them. There are tons of videos and articles out there on raising the fry.

I have been successful in spawning and raising bristelnose pleco fry in the past using this method and am currently working with a proven pair where I plan to replicate my steps.